Tape dispensers



A. P. KRUEGER TAPE DISPENSERS Sept. 3, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 17, 1961 H m m A. P. KRUEGER TAPE DISPENSERS Sept. 3, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 17, 1961 ATTORNEYfi rates aent Ofiice 3,102,670 Patented Sept. 3, 1963 This invention relates to a tape-dispensing machine and more particularly to a device for dispensing pressuresensitive tape or tape which is tacky upon one or both faces thereof.

In many tape dispensers now employed, a rotatable feed roll is provided to which a tacky face of the tape adheres, and the rotation of this roller with the tape adhering to its periphery draws :a length of tape from the supply roll. The dispensed strip may then be stripped and subse-. quently torn off against a blade of a severing member by the operator. In most cases :a stripper is provided to strip the tape from the feed roller which in many cases is composed of a plurality of spaced disks so that the tape, after being drawn from the roll, will not be permitted to follow the periphery of the roll but will be stripped therefrom to present a free end so that it may be grasped .by the operator.

With dispensers of the type just described many kinds of pressure-sensitive tapes have a tendency to curl or roll in one direction or another when the end is freed from the .feed roll. In some instances the tape has a tendency to curl upwardly with an adhesive side of the tape being on the outside of the resultant loop, While in other instances the tape tends to curl downwardly and may engage the forward portions of the machine so as to adhere thereto. This latter tendency is often caused by the fact that some tapes develop a static charge during the un-' winding process.

It is the object of the present invention to provide, for example, a tear-oil dispenser wherein the dispensed end of the tape may adhere to the feed roll and enable the operator to grasp or engage the tape with his fingers so as to strip it from the roller and tear off the dispensed length against a severing member provided on the frame of the machine.

In some instances it is desired to feed relatively narrow tapes and, even if a narrow feed roll or feed disk is provided, the operator has heretofore had difliculty in grasping the tape and peeling it d the feed roll as there is not a suflicient portion of the widthof the tape projecting from the feed roll. Also in some instances a considerable area of contact is required between a tacky side of the tape and the feed roll in order to draw the tape' from the supply roll. In such a case the feed roll has had a fairly wide peripheral edge, making it impractical to use with narrow tapes.

One object of the present invention is to overcome the difiiculties referred to above by providing a relatively narrow feed disk and scalloping the periphery of the disk so that it may present a wavy or sinuous peripheral edge to which the tape adheres. By the provision of a narrow disk, the tape will project from the edge thereof to permit the operator to grasp it while at the same time the provision of a scalloped or sinuous edge provides a greater area of contact between the tape and the disk so that there may be, sumcient adherence of the tape to the disk to draw it from the supply roll.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved mechanism for dispensing pressure-sensitive tape tacky on one or both sides thereof.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a tapedispensing mechanism wherein pressure-sensitive tape may be drawn from the supply roll by a feed roll or disk having a scalloped edge whereby the operator may readily grasp the dispensed length of tape adhering to the feed disk.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a tear-off dispenser for pressure-sensitive: tape wherein the tape drawn from a supply roll is held captive upon a feed roll until grasped by the operator to be torn ofi against a severing member provided on the frame of the dispenser, the feed roll being of such a character as to permit access to the tape adhering thereto so that it may be grasped by the fingers of the operator.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational View, partly in section, of a tape dispenser embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof, some parts being broken away to show the interior mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view online 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1, showing a modified form of my invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of a tape-severing member of modified form.

In the form of FIGS. 1 through 3, I have shown in the drawings a tape dispenser comprising a frame having upstanding spaced side walls It? and 11 between which is rotatably mounted a reel or spool 12 for receiving thereon a supply roll of tape 13. The spool 12 maybe secured to an axle 14 having projecting ends received in L-shaped slots-15 in brackets 17 secured upon the side plates. The peripheral surface 18 of the spool 12 maybe sufficiently wide so that the roll of tape 13 may be axially adjusted in the spool 12.

As shown more especially in FIG. 3, a feed disk or roll 20 is rotatably mounted upon a shaft 21, the shaft in turn being rotatably mounted in the side plates 10 and 11. Secured to the roll 20 are drums 22 and 23 having outwardly directed flanges within which are mounted coiled springs 24 and 25. A disk 26 is secured to the shaft 21, which disk has a portion 27 projecting within the spring 2 and one end of the spring is slottably engaged to this portion of the disk. With this construction it will be seen that when the shaft 21 is rotated in one direction, the spring 24 will tend to expand and elfect rotation of the feed roll 26. When, however, the disk 26 is rotated in the opposite direction, the spring will tend to be contracted and will not carry the drum 22 or feed roll 20 if the latter is restrained.

A disk 28, similar to disk 26, at the other side of the feed roll is secured to the plate 11 and rotatably receives the shaft 21. i This disk is provided with a portion 29 disposed within the spring 25, which spring is wound in the reverse direction and the end of which spring is slottably engaged therewith. With this construction it will be seen that when the feed roll and drum 23 tend to rotate in one direction, the spring 25 will expand and act as a brake while. rotation of the feed roll and drum in the opposite direction will be freely permitted. A lever 31 is secured to the shaft 21, this lever being oscillatable between stops 32 and 33- on the plate 11. The lever is normally held against the stop 32 by a spring 34 secured at its :upper end to the disk 26 and secured at its lower end to the plate It When the operator draws the lever forwardly or in a clockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 1, the feed roll 20' will be rotated in a clockwise direction and draws the tape from the supply roll. When the lever 31 is released, it will be returned against the stop 32 by the spring 34 and at this time the feed roll will be preventedifrom rotating in a reverse direction by the brake mechanism consisting of the spring 25 and disk 28.

A cover and tape-severing member 36, which in the 3 instant case is stationary, is removably mounted over the feed roll 20 between the side plates and '11, this member being provided at its forward end with either a separable or integral blade having either a straight or serrated cutting edge thereon against which the dispensed tape may be torn off, the blade in the illustrated form, indicated at 37, being constructed as an integral part having a serrated edge. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tape indicated at 38, which has been drawn from the roll, lies upon the periphery of the feed roll. A guide roll 39 -may be provided, and the tape may be trained below this roll it it is desired to increase its adherence with the feed roll or permit it to pass directly from the supply roll to the feed roll, as shown at 39 if increased adherence is not necessary.

, At each side of the blade 37 the member 36 is provided with downwardly turned lips 4th and 41 to engage pins 42 and 43 upon the side plates so as to hold the member 36 in place. The last-named member may also be supported by pins 44 secured to the side plates. It will be appreciated that when the tape is torn off by an upward pull against the blade 37, this would tend to pull the member 36 upwardly. To prevent such a result the lips 4d and 41 must embrace the pins 42 and 43, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1.

In order that the tape-engaging peripheral surface or edge of the disk or feed roll 20 may be made very narrow or thin and at the same time have a sufficient area to which the tape may adhere, the periphery of the disk is scalloped, as shown at 45, so as to present a wavy or sinuous edge which affords to the disk an overall width substantially greater than the axial dimension of said narro peripheral surface or edge.

This configuration is imparted to the feed roll 20 by virtue of circumferentially spaced first cut away portions 4511 at one side of said feed roll extending to the peripheral surface thereof, and circumferentially spaced second cut away portions 45b at the other side of said feed roll extending to the peripheral surface thereof, the out away portions 45a and 45b being arranged in circumferentially alternated relation. It will be observed in the drawing that the cut away portions 45a and 45b extend radially and provide a fluted contour to the axially opposite side walls of the feed roll 20. The tape-engaging edge surface of the feed roll 20 is preferably at least substantially continuous and may be made much narrower than any tape which is to be dispensed, the lower or tacky surface of the tape being exposed to a sufficient extent between the wavy portions of the edge of the feed roll so that it may be grasped by the fingers of the user.

It 'will also be apparent that the tape may be grasped by either the right or left hand of the operator as the tape is exposed alternately on one side of the wavy peripheral edge of the feed roll and then on the other side. It will be noted that the width of the peripheral sunface 18 of the reel is, as illustrated, greater than the width of the tape. The tape may, therefore, be moved in an axial 7 direction on the reel or laterally of the frame so as to offset the tape from the center line of the feed roll and permit more exposure on one side than the other, depending upon whether the user wishes to grasp it with his right or left hand. This is, of course, of panticular advantage when the tape is quite 'narrow.; It will be seen from FIG; 2 that there is a greater exposure on the righthand side when facing the feed roll than on the left-hand side.

The operation of the device will be readily understood. The user by grasping the lever 31 and moving it forwardly, or in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 1, effects rotation of the feed roll 20, thereby drawing the tape forwardly below the blade 37 of the member 36. If a longer length is needed than is permitted by the stops 32 and 33, the handle may be released to be moved rearwardly by the spring 34 and again drawn in a forward direction. The free end of the dispensed tape, that is the 4 portion forwardly of the blade 37, will adhere to the periphery of the feed roll and be held captive by it until the operator engages his forefinger below the tape, strips it from the feed roll, and tears it off against the blade 37. It will be understood that during the reverse movement of the lever 31 the feed roll is held against movement by the spring 25 and drum 23.

In FIGS. 4- and 5 of the drawing 1 have shown a somewhat modified form of my invention suitable for somewhat wider tape than that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. In this embodiment of the invention the tape spool is shown at 50, this spool having a hub 51 threadedly mounted upon a'shaft 5 2 and held in place by a clamping nut 53. The ends of the shaft 52 are rotatably received in slots in the brackets 54- and 55 so that the spool will be rotatably mounted on the frame members 10 and 11. construction it will be seen that the spool 50 may be adjusted axially upon the shaft 52 so as to place the supply roll 56 mounted upon the reel in the desired position with respect to the feed roll 57. The feed roll 57 (FIG. 4) is rotatably mounted in the frame by means of the shaft 59 and is'fluted or scalloped similarly to the feed roll 38 so that it presents a wavy peripheral edge for contact with the tape 60* as it is drawn off the supply roll 56.

The shaft 59 carries a gear 61 driven by means of a pinion 62 from a gear 63- with which the lever 64 has a oneway connection of any usual form. A spring 65 normally maintains the lever 64 against a stop 66. The severing member 67 is of substantially the same construction as the member 36 previously described but in this instance is pro vided with a separably mounted blade 68 against which the tape may be torn off after being manually stripped from the feed roll 57 by the operator. Reverse movement of the feed roll when the lever 64 is released and moved rearwardly by the spring 6 5 is prevented by a conventional spring device 62* carried by the shaft of the pinion 62 and having frictional engagement with the last-named pinion. The brake mechanism previously described in connection with the modification shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is not needed, although it may be employed if desired.

In the illustrated forms of the invention the, feed roll may be made of any desired material such as metal or plastic and, if desired, the wavy peripheral edge may be roughened or knurled depending upon the particular nature of the tape which is to be dispensed. In the first form, by way of example, the feed roll 20 is of plastic material while, in the second form, the feed roll 57 is of metal and is provided with a roughened peripheral edge. The tape supply rolls of the illustrated forms may be frictionally mounted upon the corresponding spools, but other mounting means maybe employed, if desired. Each tape roll may be axially positioned on its spool in such a manner that the tape passing from this spool overlaps with the right- [or left-hand side of the feed roll. This makes it easier for either a rightor left-handed person to use the dispenser. It may also be noted that the severing member 36 of the form of FIG. 1 and the severing member 67 or the form of FIG. 4 are mounted so that their cutting blades are close to the peripheries of the corresponding feed rolls so that the tape may be torn off close to the latter.

In FIG. 6 there is illustrated a severing member 69 which may be mounted in a manner similar to the member 36 or the member 67 to enable a dispenser similar to the dispenser of FIGS. 1 through 3 I01 a dispenser similar to the dispenser of FIGS. 4 and 5, to dispense tape tacky on With this indicated at 71, is shown as being constructed by a layer of material applied to the under side of the member 69 near the cutting edge of the blade 70, which blade may be of serrated or other appropriate form, and extending rearwardly therefrom. As previously indicated, the feed roll may extend in close proximity to the severing member. It has been found that the portion 71 of the severing member may be conveniently formed of a slick material such as polytetrafluoroethylene, for example, but, of course, it will be understood that other materials may be used for this purpose and, if desired, the entire severing member or a substantial portion thereof may be formed of a material characterized by low adhesion to adhesives commonly employed on tapes such as described above, or the member 69 may be sprayed with a suitable coating ma terial for this purpose.

If the member 69 is sprayed, it is advantageous to coat the blade 70. In the illustrated form, the portion 71 of the severing member 69 may 'be formed conveniently by a strip of polytetrafiuoroethylene pressure-sensitive tape applied to the under side of the severing member.

It is to be understood, of course, that the severing member, having at least a portion thereof characterized by low adhesion to tacky material, may be utilized with other tape dispensers including feed and stripper rolls.

While a plurality of forms of the dispenser 'have been shown in the drawings and described above, it will be apparent to those versed in the ant that the dispenser may take other forms and is susceptible of various changes in details without departing from the principles of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A tape-dispensing mechanism comprising a frame, means on said frame for receiving a supply roll of pressuresensitive adhesive tape which is tacky on the under surface thereof, a rotatably mounted feed roll carried by said frame and projecting outwardly thereof, said feed roll being scalloped to have a relatively thin, sinuous, substantially continuous peripheral edge to which [the tape adheres to be drawn from the supply roll when said feed roll is rotated, permitting the free end of the dispensed tape to be grasped by the operator while it adheres to said feed roll, and means for rotating said feed roll.

2. A tape-dispensing mechanism comprising a frame, means on said frame for receiving a supply roll of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape which is tacky on the under surface thereof, a rotatably mounted feed roll carried by said frame and projecting outwardly thereof, said feed roll being scalloped to have a relatively thin, sinuous,

substantially continuous peripheral edge to which the tape adheres to be drawn from the supply roll when said feed roll is rotated, permitting the free end of the dispensed tape to be grasped by the operator while it adheres to said feed roll, the sinuous contour of said edge affording said feed roll an overall axial width substantially greater than the axial dimension of said relatively thin peripheral edge, and means for rotating said feed roll.

3. A tape-dispensing mechanism comprising a frame, means on said frame for receiving a supply roll of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape which is tacky on the under surface thereof, a rotatably mounted feed roll carried by said frame and projecting outwardly thereof, said feed roll being scalloped to have a relatively thin, sinuous, substantially continuous, equal-radius peripheral surface to which the tape adheres to be drawn from the supply roll when said feed roll is rotated, permitting the free end of the dispensed tape to be grasped by the operator while it adheres to said feed roll, means for rotating said feed roll, and a severing member supported by said frame in juxtaposition to said peripheral surface against which a dispensed portion of the tape may be directed and severed.

4. A tape-dispensing mechanism as described in claim 3 wherein the tape-severing member has a portion thereof formed of a material characterized by low adhesion to a tacky surface of the tape and has a cutting blade in close proximity to said peripheral surface, said portion of said severing member being near said blade.

5. A tape-dispensing mechanism comprising a frame,

, means on said frame for receiving a supply roll of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape which is tacky on both surfaces thereof, a rotatably mounted feed roll carried by said frame and projecting outwardly thereof, said feed roll having radial flutes formed in each side thereof in circumferentially spaced relation to provide a relatively thin, sinuous and at least substantially continuous equalradius peripheral surface to which the tape adheres to be drawn from the supply roll and permitting the free end of the dispensed tape to be grasped by the: operator while it adheres to said feed roll, means for rotating said feed roll, and a cover for said frame having a severing blade member in close juxtaposition to said peripheral surface of said feed roll against which a dispensed portion of the tape may be severed and having means adjacent said blade member to resist adhesion of the tacky surface of the tape to said cover.

6 A tape 'dispensing mechanism as described in claim 5, wherein said adhesion resisting means is constituted by a film of polytetrafiuoroethylene applied to the under side of said cover close to and rear-wardly of said blade memher and above the peripheral surface of said feed roll.

7. A tape dispensing mechanism comprising a frame, means on said frame for receiving a supply roll of pressure-sensitive tape, and a feed roll, said feed roll having circumferentially spaced first cutaway portions extending to its peripheral surface at one side thereof and having circumferentially spaced second cutaway portions extending to its peripheral surface at the other side thereof and arranged in circumferentially alternated relation with respect to said first cutaway portions providing said feed roll with a relatively narrow substantially continuous undulating and equal-radius peripheral tape engaging surface having an axial dimension at any point therealong substantially smaller than the overall axial width afforded by said surface for said feed roll permitting easy grasping of a length of dispensed tape by an operator along either marginal edge thereof for removal of said length from said feed roll.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,104,246 Cole July 21, 1914 2,045,820 Antone June 30, 1936 2,233,361 Anderson et al Feb. 25, 1941 2,566,733 Krueger Sept. 4, 1951 2,792,184 Kresser May 14, 1957 2,973,890 Krueger Mar. 7, 1961 

1. A TAPE-DISPENSING MECHANISM COMPRISING A FRAME, MEANS ON SAID FRAME FOR RECEIVING A SUPPLY ROLL OF PRESSURE SENSITIVE ADHESIVE TAPE WHICH IS TACKY ON THE UNDER SURFACE THEREOF, A ROTATABLY MOUNTED FEED ROLL CARRIED BY SAID FRAME AND PROJECTING OUTWARDLY THEREOF, SAID FEED ROLL BEING SCALLOPED TO HAVE A RELATIVELY THIN, SINUOUS, SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS PERIPHERAL EDGE TO WHICH THE TAPE ADHERES 